Coming Home
by SweetMisery430
Summary: [AU] When you turn your back on someone you care about, leaving can hurt more than it has to. Yet the hardest part is coming home and admitting that you were wrong... [KentFiora][oneshot]


This is the very (note the very) slightly edited version of my first one-shot! I noticed that there were some mistakes between this story and its pseudo-sequel, Fear of Falling, so I decided to change some stuff! However, if you have already read this story, you probably won't even notice any of the changes.  
  
Nino: (glare) She is a bad editor. And I am still angry because I'm not in this story.

Well, you're sort of in it...and besides, you are a very popular character to write fics about on this web site.  
  
Nino: Yeah, whatever... SweetMisery430 does not own Fire Emblem or any brand name products that may be mentioned in this story.  
  
Coming Home  
  
"Hello? Is anybody home?"  
  
I have just returned from my one-year stay in England as a college exchange student. It had been my dream to study abroad, so when the opportunity to go to Oxford for a year came up, I didn't think twice about signing up. England was nice, I guess. I enjoyed seeing the sights, eating foreign food, and doing things like that. I was pretty lonely the whole time, though. I didn't make any friends, and I missed my family. I couldn't wait to see them.  
  
Unfortunately, no one answered when I yelled that I was home. The house was empty.  
  
I walked into the kitchen and set my suitcase down. The place hadn't changed much. Same refrigerator covered in papers held up by magnets. Same type of morning drinks lying around – Farina's Nestle Hot Chocolate and Florina's herbal tea. If I had been around, my cappucino would be there, too. Same Year of Pegasi calendar, only this one was different than the one that had been up when I'd left. It was a different year, after all.  
  
I studied the calendar. Today's date, June 7, was covered with Florina's handwriting. The writing read FIORA COMES HOME!! If they were so excited about me coming back, why weren't they here?  
  
I decided to go up to my room and unpack. I dragged my heavy suitcase up the stairs slowly. Once I'd gotten to the second floor, I made my way to my bedroom. I passed Farina's room and saw that the door was open. I glanced inside.  
  
Her room had the same dark blue carpet and light blue walls as before, and the same canopy bed, but she had taken all of her posters down. She used to have more posters than I could count – usually they were of rich and famous people (who she called her 'role models'). She still had her radio, which was always set to the stock market. I wondered if Farina still had her job at Acme. She had always insisted that she'd get a better job one day, and that she'd be rich and famous. Farina cared about money a little too much.  
  
I decided to look into Florina's room across the hall. Her room hadn't changed at all. The walls and carpet were both lavender, as were her bed and furniture. She still had that huge bookshelf, and she still had tons of framed photographs sitting on her desk. There were some new pictures, too. I went to get a closer look at them. A bunch of them were of Florina and her best friend Lyn. I liked Lyn, because she brought Florina out of her shell. Then I came to a picture that shocked me. That's because there was a man in it. And he had his arm around Florina.  
  
Anyone who has met Florina knows of her fear of men. Why, all of the sudden, had she changed? And why hadn't she told me?  
  
I decided to go to my room to think. It seemed no one had been in there since I'd left. I examined the aqua blue walls and the wooden floor covered by a rug. I dropped my suitcase and sat down on the bed. Coming home was supposed to get rid of my loneliness, but somehow, I still felt all alone.  
  
After a few minutes, our two cats, Huey and Murphy, wandered into the room.  
  
"Hey, you two," I whispered, and slid to the floor so I could pick up the two cats. At least someone was here to see me, even if it was just Huey and Murphy. They weren't even mine, really. Huey was Florina's and Murphy was Farina's. I had a cat, too (we had bought all three at the same time), but it had died a week after I'd gotten it, before I could even name it.  
  
While I was sitting on the floor and petting the cats, I noticed something sticking out from under the bed. It was my old photo album. Florina and I were the most obsessive photographers. We took pictures of everything. This always annoyed Farina. She claimed she was not photogenic in the least, which wasn't true. If she wanted to be rich and famous, she should get used to cameras.  
  
I flipped through the photo album. The earliest photos were of Florina in sophomore year of high school. Farina was a junior at the time, and I, a senior. There were pictures of Florina's 16th birthday party. For someone so quiet, she was unusually popular. I guess it was connected to her being friends with Lyn, who was pretty outgoing. In the photo, she was surrounded by all of her friends, including Lyn, Serra, Nino, Rebecca, Ninian, and Priscilla. Finally, there were pictures from her graduation, which had happened right before I had left for England.  
  
There were also pictures of Farina with her best friend, Karla, in fencing club. Farina had a habit of picking up strange activities at school. She thought being original would automatically make her rich. I also had pictures from Farina's horse riding competitions. Farina used to be very good at horseback riding, but she quit it when she started focusing on college. I wasn't actually here when that happened. She told me in a letter earlier this spring. I wished she hadn't quit. It meant she was going through yet another phase change.  
  
Then there were the pictures of me. I had been class president in senior year, so there were a lot of pictures from school events, like the Senior Picnic and the Prom. I cringed as I looked at the picture of me and my date, Eliwood. Eliwood had been my steady boyfriend since the beginning of junior year, but he dumped me the July before he left for college. This was because he was going to Harvard, and I was planning on studying abroad, and he didn't want to put the effort into staying in touch. Well, he didn't say that, but I figured it out myself. I was my class valedictorian, too. I couldn't believe how happy I used to be in high school.  
  
Then I found the pictures of Farina's graduation. She wasn't valedictorian or a student officer. She didn't get straight A's like me, either, although she did have mostly B's, and the occasional A in art class. Her claim to fame, besides her participation in fencing club, was that she was voted Most Likely to be Rich and Famous in the yearbook.  
  
I almost put the book away, remembering what pictures would come next – the ones with Kent in them. But for some reason, I kept flipping the pages.  
  
Farina had started going out with Kent right before her first year of college. I was planning my trip to England for the following year. I had first met him at our Fourth of July barbecue. Farina had decided to throw it because she was bored (she had quit her summer job, claiming it didn't pay high enough). Florina invited all of her friends, and they had invited their friends, so it was pretty crowded. I didn't really have any close friends to invite, but Eliwood was there. This was before we broke up.  
  
Farina introduced Kent to me as soon as the picnic began.  
  
"Hey, Fiora! C'mere!" she had called. I was busy supervising Eliwood, who was reading the instructions for our backyard grill and trying to figure out how to cook hamburgers (he wasn't a very hands-on type of person).  
  
She was standing with a tall, red-headed guy. I figured it was her current boyfriend.  
  
"This is Kent," Farina introduced him, smiling. "Kent, this is my sister Fiora."  
  
"Nice to meet you," he said, smiling politely, and shaking my hand.  
  
"Uh, you too," I said, feeling about awkward. There was something about his smile..."I hope you're enjoying yourself so far."  
  
"What is TAKING Eliwood so long?" complained Farina. "I'm starving!"  
  
"You can wait for five more minutes," Kent said. "I'm sure it will be ready soon."  
  
"Eliwood's just having some problems with the grill," I said hurriedly.  
  
Farina snorted. "You're just having some trouble admitting that your man is a bad cook."  
  
"Farina..." Kent scolded. I was surprised that he didn't seem like Farina's type at all. He was already coming off as a more serious type.  
  
"She's my sister," Farina shot back. "I'm allowed to say stuff like that!"  
  
Eventually, Eliwood got the grill to work, and we all got our food. The barbecue was pretty fun, all in all. We went swimming in our pool, and some of the people started a volleyball game. I found myself stealing at glances at Kent. I kept asking myself why. It wasn't like I had feelings for him or anything. I mean, he was going out with Farina, and I was with Eliwood. Nothing would ever happen.  
  
Everybody decided to drive over to the high school field to see the fireworks. I decided to stay behind and clean up everything. Eliwood decided to stay with me.  
  
As soon as everyone else was gone, Eliwood announced, "Fiora, we need to have a talk."  
  
And I already knew what was coming next.  
  
He went on to explain how since he was off to Harvard, which he finally had been accepted to a year after his high school graduation, and I was preparing to go to England next year, our relationship would never work. And he broke up with me.  
  
I was pretty upset, but I hid it until Eliwood had left. Then I sat next to the pool, dangling my feet in the water, and cried.  
  
A half an hour later, Farina came back with Kent in tow. They found me in the backyard. My eyes were red and puffy from crying, so it was obvious that something had happened.  
  
"He broke up with you, didn't he," Farina said flatly. I nodded. "What a jerk. You should just forget about him Florina. He isn't worth your time."  
  
I began to cry again, and Farina hugged me. I don't know why I was so upset. I guess the first time is the hardest. And I really wasn't expecting it, at the time. It's not like me and Eliwood had a lot of relationship problems.  
  
All this time, Kent watched us awkwardly, not knowing what to do. There really wasn't anything he could do, at that point.  
  
Florina's friend Nino had invited her to spend a week or so at the beach with her and a bunch of their friends, so she left for the trip a few weeks after the party. With Florina gone, Farina decided it was time to get me a new boyfriend. She arranged a double date for me with her, Kent, and Kent's friend, whose name was Sain.  
  
Sain was a huge flirt. This immediately put me off. He talked as if he came out of the 17th century.  
  
"Ah, you must be the Fiora I've heard so much about!" he greeted me. "You are three times more beautiful than I had heard! Farina, why didn't you tell me the truth? Oh, those eyes like sapphire!"  
  
Kent looked extremely embarrassed, and gave me an apologetic look. Farina just laughed and said, "You guys will get along great."  
  
We went to dinner and saw a movie. Sain did nothing but compliment me and rave about how beautiful I was. It got more annoying each time. At one point, I ignored Sain and tried holding an intelligent conversation with Kent. He was actually very interesting to talk to. Then, Sain had to interrupt and ruin it. He even talked during the movie.  
  
Later, I told Farina I definitely did not want to see Sain again. She shrugged and went to bed. I decided I wasn't ready for another relationship yet.  
  
A week later, Florina was back. I spent most of my time with her, shopping for clothes for college and hanging out in our pool. It was good to spend quality time with my sister after she'd been with her friends all summer.  
  
One night, Florina and I stayed up really late. We were watching game shows and eating popcorn. Farina was out. Then, I heard a loud engine outside, and heard it come to a stop outside of our house.  
  
"Thanks!" called Farina's voice. I jumped up and ran to the window to see who had dropped her off. I saw was a muscular guy with a tattoo of a skull on his arm. He was riding a motorcycle and wearing a helmet, so I didn't see his face.  
  
"Who was that, Farina?" I asked my sister as she walked into the room. He wasn't a gangster or a druggie, was he?  
  
"Oh, that was Dart," she replied casually. "Don't worry, Sis, he doesn't do drugs or anything. We've been...hanging out...recently."  
  
"Oh, isn't Dart related to Rebecca?" asked Florina.  
  
"Yeah, he's her older brother!" Farina said. "He came to pick her up from someone's house once, and I was there picking you up at the same time. That's how I met him."  
  
"Wait...so are you going out?" I asked, confused.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Farina shrugged.  
  
"What happened to Kent?" I wondered.  
  
"Oh, we broke up right after that double date with you and Sain," Farina said, acting as if it were no big deal. "We got into a fight because he was mad at me for setting you up with Sain."  
  
"What??" I cried. "He broke up with you because I didn't like Sain??"  
  
"He didn't want to bring Sain in the first place," Farina sighed. "He warned me that you wouldn't like him. I told him that you'd be fine. So the fight went from there. Eventually, we broke up. Kent isn't really my type, anyways."  
  
The fact that she could shrug off a relationship, just like that, bothered me a bit. I wondered how Kent felt about it. I realized I was more worried about Kent than I was about Farina, my own sister. I don't know why, but I decided to dig up Kent's phone number and call to see if he was okay.  
  
The phone rang a couple of times, and then someone picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"SAIN??" I cried. "What are YOU doing at Kent's house?"  
  
"We're college roomies!" cried Sain. "And who is this on the other line? I can already tell that you are beautiful, just by your voice!"  
  
"Uh, it's Fiora," I said, feeling bewildered. How did Kent put up with Sain?  
  
"Fiora! Of course! Oh, have you called to ask me if I will go out with you again?"  
  
"Um, no. I'm actually calling for Kent."  
  
"Huh? Kent??"  
  
"Well? Is he there?"  
  
"Um, yeah. Hold on for just a second."  
  
I sighed as I heard Sain yell, "Hey Kent, some GIRL is on the phone for you."  
  
Finally, Kent came on the line. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi, it's Fiora," I said.  
  
"Oh, hi! Sorry about Sain picking up the phone..." he said.  
  
"It's ok," I replied. "I was just calling to apologize about you and Farina...I feel like it's my fault."  
  
"No, it wasn't your fault," sighed Kent. "This was a long time coming. As soon as I met Farina, I knew I could never be in a long-term relationship with her."  
  
"Oh," I said, feeling a bit relieved. "Well, I'm glad you don't blame me. And I just wanted to tell you, I'm not angry about having to go on that date with Sain. I won't go out with him again, but I didn't mind doing it once."  
  
That was a lie. But I didn't care.  
  
"That's good," Kent agreed. "That wasn't really the cause of us breaking up, though, I assure you. There were...other factors involved. And it was a mutual thing. Both of us agreed to stop seeing the other. It isn't like she dumped me or anything."  
  
"I'm glad you're alright with it," I replied. "Farina just got driven home by some gangster on a motorcycle and a tattoo."  
  
I heard Kent sigh on the other end. "She has the strangest mood swings. Who knows what kind of man she'll want next?"  
  
"She can never make up her mind," I said. "I'm just afraid of her hanging out with dangerous types of people..."  
  
"Maybe...if you're worried about your sister getting into trouble...you could make some new rules about the curfew at your house," suggested Kent.  
  
"That's a good idea!" I said, feeling a bit better. "Farina won't be happy about it, but it just might work..."  
  
And so our conversation continued for a while, discussing rules to help keep Farina safe, and things like that. I have to admit, I enjoyed myself. Kent was easy to talk to. And he wasn't holding any hard feelings against Farina, or getting depressed, which was good.  
  
I guess this could be marked as the beginning of my relationship with Kent.  
  
After several more phone calls, I asked Farina if it was alright if I went out with Kent. When I asked this, Farina just began to laugh. She found it hilarious that I wanted to go out with her ex-boyfriend. But she said it was alright.  
  
After that, we went out to dinner a lot. I began to like all of the little things about Kent – his polite smile, his calm voice, his laugh. As we grew closer, I admitted to myself that I did have feelings for him. For some reason, I tried not to show them. Maybe I was afraid he thought we were just friends, or maybe I just wasn't ready for another relationship after Eliwood.  
  
One night, I gave Kent a ride back to his dormitory after we went out to dinner. We were laughing about something stupid one of us had said, it was hard to remember who.  
  
"I had fun tonight, Fiora," Kent said, with that smile of his.  
  
"Me too," I said, smiling back.  
  
He moved closer to me. My heartbeat began to speed up.  
  
The moment was interrupted when the light in front of the door to the dormitory building flicked on. A desperate voice cried, "Kent!!! I can't find our candy stash!!!"  
  
I drove home that night feeling a bit disappointed. Of course Sain had to show up right then. He was probably watching us the whole time and became jealous. Well, he would just have to get over it.  
  
Soon after that, it was time for me to head off to England for my year of studying abroad. I was excited, but I knew I would miss my sisters and Kent. Farina, claiming my going away was a good excuse for a party, threw me a Good-bye Bash. Farina was a party animal, but I wasn't. At least I would get to be with Kent before I left.  
  
When Kent arrived, he immediately began apologizing about Sain interrupting us.  
  
"And anyways, I should never have made such advances on you in the first place," he added, his face turning as red as his hair.  
  
"It...It's fine, Kent," I said, sighing.  
  
"You see," Kent continued, "Sain is...well, he's rather envious of our relationship because currently, he is not seeing anyone. He has, well, been rather taken with you since we had our double date with you, Farina, and myself a long time ago. And his behavior has gotten worse and worse as you and I have grown closer."  
  
"Oh, just ignore Sain," I told Kent. "He'll find someone eventually."  
  
"I'm sorry," Kent said, his face still red. "But...this has gone on for a while. I don't think it's going to stop any time soon. So...I think we should take a little break from one another, since you're going away. If we don't communicate for a while, Sain will get over you. And also, I believe our relationship was becoming too intimate. I am not only doing this for myself, but for you also. I hope you're not upset."  
  
My heart began to beat harder in my chest.  
  
"Uh, well, I can see where you're coming from Kent," I began, "but...is this really what you want?"  
  
"Yes," he said, trying to seem confident, although I could tell he wasn't. "Yes it is."  
  
"Well, then I guess it's what I want, too," I heard myself say. But it wasn't what I wanted. Not at all.  
  
So here I was, a year later, sitting on my bedroom floor with two cats and a photo album. I put the album away, and shoved it under the bed. I also shoved those memories to the back of my mind. I might as well get over Kent. It's been an entire year. I'll get over him like I got over Eliwood. I'll find someone new.  
  
I heard the distant sound of a car door slamming, and then I heard Florina's voice call, "Thanks for the ride!"  
  
I stood up and went down the stairs.  
  
"Florina?" I called as I heard the door open.  
  
"Fiora?" she cried excitedly. "Oh, Fiora, is that you?"  
  
I embraced my little sister hard. It had been so long since I'd seen her. She looked...different. Maybe it was her new hairstyle, or the fact that she was wearing more makeup than usual. But she was different in a good sort of way. She looked incredibly happy.  
  
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you, sister!" she cried. "Farina will be too! She'll be back for dinner! We should go out to celebrate!"  
  
"I'm glad to see you, too," I said. "So who was that giving you a ride?"  
  
"Oh, uh..." Florina mumbled, turning red, but still smiling. "That...was Hector."  
  
"Hector?" I asked, surprised. "Florina, is he your...?"  
  
"Well, I suppose he is," she said, beaming. "You're not mad, are you? I know it's quite a shock, but, well, he's really nice! He was a friend of Lyn's, and I met last year during that week I went to the beach with Nino. I'll introduce him to you sometime."  
  
"I'm not mad," I said, shaking my head. Hector must be the mystery man from those pictures. "Just...surprised."  
  
My little Florina had grown up while I was gone.  
  
The phone rang then, and Florina went to pick it up. "Hello? Oh, Farina!! Guess who's here??"  
  
So then I had to get on the phone and talk to Farina.  
  
"Gee, I can't believe you're back, sis!" she said. "It's felt like ages since you were here. Listen, when I get back from work, let's go out to dinner! I'll leave in half an hour! Ok, see you then!" Click.  
  
"Did she finally get a real job?" I asked, shocked.  
  
"Yeah, working as a secretary at some lawyer's office," Florina told me. "Isn't that great? She has a pretty good paycheck."  
  
I was impressed. Farina was finally earning more money.  
  
"I'm going to go change, and then you can tell me about England!" Florina said excitedly. "Ok? I'll be down in a minute."  
  
I nodded and watched her go upstairs.  
  
I guess I wasn't as lonely anymore, but there was still something missing. And I knew it was Kent. If we had stayed together, maybe he would have come out with us to dinner, too.  
  
Then, it hit me. I shouldn't have ever lied that I wanted out of the relationship. If I hadn't lied, maybe we never would have broken up.  
  
I decided to call Kent. Just like I had last year. Even if it was just to talk.  
  
This time, the phone rang only once before someone picked it up. And this time, Kent was the one to pick up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi," I said, taking a deep breath. "It's Fiora. And...I just really need to talk to you."  
  
"Oh, Fiora," sighed Kent, "I wanted to talk to you before, but I didn't know how to contact you in England, and –"  
  
"It's alright, Kent," I told him.  
  
"Please let me speak," he begged. "Fiora, I regretted ending our relationship. And I won't try and blame it on Sain, either. It was a stupid decision. I never wanted to break it off with you. I don't know why I did. Maybe I was just afraid that it would end up the same as it did with Farina and I. I know at this point it may be hard to go back to where we were, but...maybe we could at least still be friends."  
  
"Kent...I feel the same way," I said, feeling relieved. "I lied when I said it was what I wanted to end things. But I only lied because I thought it was what you wanted. Of course I still want to be friends."  
  
"Oh, that's good," he said, sounding just as relieved. "I'm glad to hear it. Maybe...we could get together sometime soon...just to get reacquainted, and to talk."  
  
"I'd like that," I told him. "I'd like that a lot."  
  
Maybe we couldn't go back exactly to where we were, but we could start over. Which was exactly what I was planning to try and do.  
  
The End  
  
Yeah...I barely changed anything at all, so it isn't that different.  
  
Nino: Time for a shameless plug! Now that you're done this, go read the pseudo-sequel, Fear of Falling! It's FlorinaxHector and takes place during that week Florina went to the beach.

Yep! Personally, I like Fear of Falling better than this story, so go read it!!

Nino: Review this, even though I'M NOT IN IT.


End file.
